


Catch me when I fall

by FlipSideofC



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Kuroo's actually kinda smooth, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, M/M, Minor Bokuaka - Freeform, Strangers to Lovers, kuroken xmas exchange 2020, light injury, no angst whatsoever, omg they were neighbours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:27:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlipSideofC/pseuds/FlipSideofC
Summary: Kenma is just about to move into a new apartment and start a new job. Today’s horoscope tells him he will fall for a handsome stranger and sustain minor injuries, but he certainly doesn’t believe in that kind of nonsense. He sure hopes the new neighbours are nice though.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 25
Kudos: 193
Collections: HQ all time favorites, Kuroken Christmas Exchange 2020, My favorite haikyuu fics, Recommended KuroKen Fics





	Catch me when I fall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fooshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fooshi/gifts).



> Merry Kuroken Christmas Frances! (@francesthequeer on twt/Fooshi on AO3) I picked a few of the items from your list and wish you a wonderful season <3
> 
> Endless thanks to [Nate](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/Mini_Nate/pseuds/Mini_Nate).

_All love stories are tales of beginnings.  
When we talk about falling in love, we go to the beginning, to pinpoint the moment of freefall.  
-Meghan O’Rourke_

  
  
  
Kenma glanced at his phone as he waited for the elevator to reach his floor. It stopped several times to admit and let off more people and Kenma became momentarily worried that someone would get annoyed about all the bags and boxes he had brought with him. So far, people seemed polite though. He wondered if any of the neighbours would be nice. He sure hoped so. 

He had only seen the apartment briefly once, but had read every detail of the prospect several times. It was very small, but of decent standard. And by decent he meant not a hovel really. It was Ikebukuro, so he couldn’t be too picky. He could squeeze a kotatsu into the living room and it wasn’t far from the station. It would only take him about ten minutes on the Yamanote line to get to work. Rent was certainly way more expensive than his last place, but he was fed up with the commute and with his new job he could actually afford it. 

Kenma scrolled through his notices and opened the latest message from Shouyou. 

_Good luck with the new apartment today Kenma!!!!! I know it’ll be good!!!!! Just look at today’s horoscope!!!!!!_

After years of practice, Kenma no longer saw all the exclamation marks and just smiled at his friend’s enthusiasm. Horoscopes huh.... He didn’t believe in them, but to appease Shouyou he read it dutifully anyway. 

_Today is a day of new beginnings for you ___

__Well, sure…_ _

_You will meet new interesting people ___

__Ok, plausible._ _

_You will fall for a handsome stranger ___

__...really now, how cliché was that?_ _

_Make sure you have band-aids at home, as you might sustain a minor injury if you’re not careful ___

__Oh joy..._ _

__Kenma shook his head and wrote a short note of thanks to Shouyou, letting him know he’d be in contact later._ _

__The elevator arrived and Kenma dragged his bags and boxes forward. He stopped by a closed door to put his haul down and open it to reach the rest of the hallway, but it swung open for him just as he reached for the handle. Sighing in relief, he moved to pass through._ _

__Someone yelled and Kenma paused in confusion just as the door slammed back into his face. The pain made him dizzy and he braced himself for the impact as he stumbled backwards._ _

__Strong arms prevented him from hitting the floor. When he opened his eyes again he looked up into the face of a dark-haired man with worried amber eyes. They were pretty, he thought groggily...but what weird hair. The pain distracted him and he must have made a grimace, as the dark-haired stranger immediately looked even more chagrined than before. Another guy with spiky grey-black hair came into view, making too much noise for Kenma’s pounding head to handle._ _

__“Oh my god Kuroo, did I kill him?!”_ _

__“You didn’t kill him Bo, but he hurt his head. I told you this was a bad idea.”_ _

__“It was your idea from the beginning!”_ _

__“I suggested it as a joke. I never thought you’d go for it - and I told you to check that no one was in the way before we did it.”_ _

__“I didn’t see anyone! He came out of nowhere! He’s really small, you know. And just your type too.”_ _

__“Oh for…”_ _

__The dark-haired man - _Kuroo_ apparently - bent down towards Kenma again, now slightly red in the face. It wasn’t a bad look on him at all, Kenma thought, even if he was probably a himbo. _ _

__“How do you feel?” Kuroo asked gently._ _

__“My head hurts,” Kenma said slowly._ _

__Kenma thought his voice sounded off - almost like he had a cold. He carefully touched his nose and sighed at the blood on his hand._ _

__“I can understand that,” Kuroo said. “You were hit by a door. I’m sorry to say it was our fault. Can you count how many fingers I’m holding up?”_ _

__“Five. Why was I hit by a door?”_ _

__“Well see...my friend here really wanted an excuse to go to the clinic and pick up the doctor there. Can you follow my finger with your eyes?”_ _

__Kenma dutifully followed the finger with his eyes._ _

__“Why can’t he just ask the doctor out like a normal person?”_ _

__Kuroo chuckled even as his companion made disgruntled noises and wailed._ _

__“I can’t do that! He’s too perfect! His voice, his hair, his eyes, the way he fills out those robes! And he’s so smart. I need an excuse or I’ll never be able to get a coherent sentence out.”_ _

__Kenma shared a look of exasperation with Kuroo._ _

__“That’s Bokuto Koutarou. I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. Do you remember your name?”_ _

__“Kozume...Kenma,” Kenma mumbled._ _

__“That was almost smooth bro. Ask him if he remembers his phone number too.”_ _

__“Shut it Bo!” Kuroo glared at his friend before offering Kenma a tentative smile and a hand, still looking flushed._ _

__“Let me help you up. Then we’ll get your stuff into your apartment and I’ll accompany you to get that nose looked at, ok?”_ _

__Kenma got to his feet, assisted by Kuroo and swayed until the muscular arms steadied him yet again. His rescuer was very tall, so Kenma ended up leaning against a warm and firm chest. He didn’t mind this._ _

__“Careful there. Now which door is yours?”_ _

__“505,” Kenma murmured, holding out his keys._ _

__“Oh hey, that’s almost next to me; I’m in 501. Bokuto, open the door and bring his things inside will you? I need to support Kozume here standing up.”_ _

__“Yeah sure you do,” Bokuto sing-songed, even as he carried all of Kenma’s things with ease._ _

__“Kenma.”_ _

__“Hmmm?”_ _

__“Call me Kenma.”_ _

__“Kenma,” Kuroo said carefully and nodded, like he tried the name out in his mouth. “Let’s get you some help.”  
  
  
_ _

¤¤¤ 

Kenma leaned closer to Kuroo for warmth in the chilly wind as they walked the short distance to the clinic. He figured he could enjoy this as much as possible and blame it all on the dizziness.

Kuroo carefully helped him into the examination room and seated him in a chair, just as the doctor entered. 

“Hello, I am Akaashi Keiji. I assume you are the patient?”

The young man in front of him held out a hand in greeting, even as his eyes settled on his nose. Kenma wondered how many good-looking strangers today’s horoscope had in store for him, because this was getting ridiculous. 

“Yes. I’m Kozume Kenma.”

The doctor nodded and looked at Kuroo with a semi-polite frown. 

“I’m just the escort,” he smiled easily. 

“I see...now what happened?”

“I hit my head...uh...on a door,” Kenma said, truthfully. 

“...a door. Indeed.”

“It was my fault,” Kuroo interjected, but shut up when the doctor gave him a look. 

Akaashi examined Kenma and made similar questions that Kuroo had already done when he was on the floor. After he was done, he glared at Kuroo, who shrank back in his chair and looked somewhat confused. 

“Kozume-san, you don’t seem to have a concussion, but you’ll need to take it easy for a while. Your nose doesn’t appear to be broken, though I won’t be able to tell for certain until later. You’re going to have some swelling and discolouration. I’ll bandage it now and you’ll need to change it later and come back here regularly. I’ll give you instructions and prescribe some painkillers for you.”

“Will I be able to work? I start a new job on Monday.”

“That depends on what it is. You can work a desk job if you feel up to it, but I wouldn’t recommend anything strenuous. You should avoid heavy lifting and housework and rest a lot for a while.”

Kenma sighed, looking conflicted. He didn’t want to bring this up with his manager the first day - and he lived alone after all, so some work had to be done. He’d just moved in too. 

“Also,” Akaashi continued, glaring at Kuroo again. “I would like to stress that there is help to be obtained if your partner is being violent.”

Kenma blinked, as Kuroo looked aghast. 

“I’m not violent!”

“We’re not a couple!”

Akaashi looked at them both, clearly sceptical. 

“It was my fault for hitting his head with a door, but it was an _accident_.”

“I just met him today and he’s telling the truth. His friend Bokuto wanted to get injured so he could see some handsome doctor here at the clinic.”

“...” 

“...”

“...”

Akaashi cleared his throat and turned towards Kenma. Kenma thought he looked a bit flustered. 

“I see...well, you take this and come and see me again in a week.”

Akaashi then turned towards Kuroo with a look that said ‘I’ll be watching you anyway’. Kuroo grumbled as he helped Kenma up. As they moved to leave, Akaashi added. 

“I’m...doing HPR classes on Thursdays. Here’s a flyer, if you know _someone_ that might need it.”  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma got back to his apartment with Kuroo’s aid and collapsed on the couch with a groan. He’d planned on getting settled today and take it easy tonight, not getting hit by doors and meeting way too many new people. He tried to take a look around the room, but just felt tired and worn out. Kuroo knelt down next to him.

“Now, what can I do to make it up to you? The doctor did say you should take it easy, remember.”

Kenma glanced at him. 

“Laundry and dishes for a month.”

“Of course.”

“Cook food. Drive me to work. Foot massage.”

“You’re enjoying this, don’t you,” Kuroo asked wryly. 

Kenma smiled, wincing at the pain the action caused. “A bit.”

“Take a nap and I’ll fix you some food. Is ramen ok? What kind of dessert do you like?”

“Apple pie,” Kenma mumbled. He enjoyed most desserts, but if Kuroo was willing to bake it was after all his favourite. He lay down and enjoyed watching Kuroo move around in his kitchenette, after fetching supplies from his own apartment. Kenma didn’t notice falling asleep, but woke up all snuggled up in a warm blanket to the heavenly smell of ramen and apple pie and the even more heavenly sight of Kuroo in an apron and his room all tidied up. 

“Hey there, are you hungry? Food is ready.”

“Thank you,” Kenma said, still a bit groggy and with the sinking feeling that his face was even more swollen and discoloured than before. He forgot most of it when Kuroo sat down with him to eat.

“Are you going to give Bokuto the flyer?” Kenma wondered, as he took the first bites of the food. It was delicious. 

“I already did. He yelled a lot.”

“What do you think of his chances?”

“To be honest, I have no idea, but Bo can be pretty endearing when he wants to be. Our frowning doctor is in for some serious wooing.”

Kenma tried to envision the scene, but refrained. He was happy he wasn’t Akaashi. That kind of courtship seemed way too stressful for him. On that note, he should probably tell Kuroo that he was kidding with all of his requests. He did try to say so, but Kuroo wouldn’t hear of it, shaking his head. 

“No no. Consider me your willing slave for the next couple of weeks,” Kuroo grinned. “I’ll be doing all the fun parts and delegate the boring stuff to Bokuto.”

“What would all the fun parts be?” Kenma wondered. 

“Anything that puts me in close proximity to you of course,” Kuroo declared, winking. 

Kenma hid his red face in the bowl of ramen. 

He decided that he liked his new apartment.  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma went back to the clinic to have his nose checked regularly and Akaashi seemed satisfied with the healing progress, saying he would likely look like a human being around Christmas. He was also frowning a lot less these days. Kenma knew exactly why, as Kuroo kept him up to date with all the hilarious details of Bokuto's stumbling-but-successful courtship progress.

Kuroo was surprisingly good company. They walked to the train together in the mornings and then spent several stations in each other’s company before Kenma stepped off at Shibuya, while Kuroo continued to his lab. Sometimes they went out for drinks or dinner after work, but mostly they cooked and ate back in either of their apartments. Kenma liked eating out (to avoid cooking), but unless they did it straight after work or in company with friends, a lot of people stared at Kenma’s face and nose and then at Kuroo with frowns that made eating a less than nice experience. Also, their busy work schedules meant they often went home late and at different times. Kenma suspected Kuroo was something of a workaholic, though Kenma could hardly say anything about that as he was probably just as bad. He’d begun working more from home lately instead, as it was nicer to work while Kuroo cooked, or just both working next to each other. 

Dinner tonight was out with Bokuto and Akaashi though. Kuroo and Kenma took great delight in observing the couple’s courtship in action. Watching Akaashi stare at Bokuto with a star-struck gaze as the latter sprouted finance lingo or discussed volleyball statistics was very entertaining. Kenma still had no idea what Bokuto did exactly, but Kuroo had explained that it had to do with interest rate derivatives (that info did not help much). Akaashi was also very invested in Kenma’s wellbeing, though Kenma suspected it was in part just to mess with Kuroo.  
  
“Kozume, is this guy treating you well?”  
  
“Keiji, I must be honest with you…” Kenma said with a serious face. “Last night, the sauce was store-bought and I only got _two_ courses.”  
  
Akaashi gave Kuroo a look of profound disappointment and shook his head.  
  
“Hey,” Kuroo said weakly.  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma had received one batch of boxes from his old apartment earlier, but just as he had managed to unpack all of them - with Kuroo’s help - another set from his parents arrived. Kuroo insisted on helping him with them as well. Not that Kenma actually minded.

Kuroo opened one of the boxes and brought out an old gaming console and a few games. 

“Wow, Metal Gear! I used to play this when I was a kid!”

Kenma blinked at the old thing. His parents must have snuck it down in one of the boxes when they helped him pack. This certainly explained why there were many more than he remembered. 

“I played a lot when I was younger, but I certainly didn’t pack that. I’m not really the sentimental type.”

Kuroo looked pointedly at Kenma’s current attire, consisting of a pair of old and faded red pants with a hole on one knee and vintage gaming t-shirt. 

“These are just comfy, that’s all,” Kenma tried, though he was fully aware Kuroo wasn’t buying any of it. Also, while he hadn’t packed the games, he had kept them all over the years and refused all of his parents’ efforts of cleaning them out. 

“No need to be shy about it,” Kuroo laughed. “I’m no better. Look at these socks!”

Kuroo pulled up his pants to display some of the ugliest pair of socks that Kenma had ever seen. 

“Every year, my sister gives me the worst pair of socks she can find. For every occasion. Birthdays. Christmas. I have so many that I never need to buy new ones. Even when they get holes and I can’t use them, I can’t throw them away. Thus, I have a box at home only filled with old socks.”

Kenma shook his head. 

“You’re such a sap. You and Bokuto have been best friends since middle school. You told me you decided to go into research as a kid and then you did just that. You even still send Christmas cards to your old volleyball coach.”

“True, but there are new things in my life I appreciate too. After all, all old things used to be new at some point. Maybe I’m just good at spotting quality?”

Kenma busied himself with the next box to avoid meeting Kuroo’s half-serious, half-smiling grin. 

“Maybe you are, he mumbled. Are you going home for Christmas?”

“No, I’m working for most of it. What about you?”

“Same. Tora and Fukunaga are travelling, so I volunteered.”

“That’s kind of you. You will hardly be alone though. Every year, the building association organizes a Christmas party in the café downstairs. It’s great fun; decorations, candy, secret santa gifts, music, you name it.”

“Do we all have to join?” Kenma asked, groaning inwardly at the thought of having to buy Christmas gifts for people he didn’t even know that well. The party itself was probably a good idea to interact with his new neighbours, even if he’d be exhausted afterwards. 

“You definitely have to come, or Oikawa will come and knock on your door and drag you there. He takes it very seriously. I think he’s European...well half at least. And I’ll be there, so you have to keep me company, or I’ll be sad.”

“I guess I could… I’m not sure what to buy though.”

“Not to worry, we all buy something and put it in a big bag, so you don’t have to get something personal or anything. You can join me when I’m going shopping, if you want?”  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma looked around the department store wondering what to get. Kuroo had suggested Christmas accessories or candy and at least the latter didn’t sound so bad. Kenma turned to Kuroo, who was browsing scarves and looking undecided. It seemed one of the staff had also noticed his struggles, as a smiling pretty girl with a name tag hovered around him.

“Can I help you?” 

Kuroo turned to the girl with a relieved smile, which actually made him look kind of endearing. 

“Thank you, yes. I’m trying to find a scarf. For a woman.”

“Your girlfriend?” 

“No, it’s for my older sister.”

The girl’s smile turned brighter. Kenma rolled his eyes inside his head and tried not to feel so annoyed.

“That’s so kind and considerate of you.”

“Not really,” Kuroo said. “She hates scarves, so I buy her one every Christmas to annoy her.”

Kenma tried to muffle his laugh into a cough. 

“You ok there Kenma?” Kuroo asked, turning around in concern. 

“Yes,” Kenma managed to say with an almost straight face. 

“I think I’ll get this one. It will probably get me the ugliest socks as payback.”

“I’ll wrap it for you,” the girl said. “Um...if you don’t mind, do you feel like grabbing a cup of coffee? My shift ends in a few minutes.”

“Oh, what do you say Kenma? Do you want some coffee? Or tea of course, you don’t drink coffee.”

“We should buy our secret santa gifts before we meet up with Koutarou and Keiji and it’s already past five,” Kenma said, trying to look contrite. 

“Oh you’re right,” Kuroo nodded. “Sorry, we don’t have time today,” Kuroo said politely to the girl. “Maybe another time.”  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

“I told Kai and Yaku that we were considering a joint account as we’re buying so much groceries together, but Yaku just started to dunk his head against the desk and Kai gave me his Buddha look. It’s a great idea, so I’m not sure why they are being difficult. Actually Lev thought it was brilliant, which makes me a bit nervous.”

Kenma hid a small smile. When he’d mentioned it at work, Fukunaga had blinked and started to write it down, which he generally only did when he heard good jokes, so Kenma had refrained from even telling Tora. He decided to change the subject. 

“So how did the lecture go? Did Mr Salty give you another of his ‘And how did you come to that conclusion Kuroo-san?’”

Kuroo laughed. “That’s exactly what he said!”  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

“Kuroo, could you take a look at this?”

Kenma handed Kuroo his phone, which displayed a buff and intense guy that he recognized as Kenma’s colleague Tora. However, it was a different look than the one he was used to from Kenma’s friend. For starters, he had no shirt on and he was making an odd heavy-lidded sultry pose. 

“What am I looking at?”

“That’s one of Tora’s chosen Tinder pictures,” Kenma grimaced. “Do you think he’ll ‘get game’, so to speak?”

“That depends what he’s looking for I guess,” Kuroo mused. 

“Girls like the one who flirted with you in the department store,” Kenma replied. 

“Who? What?” Kuroo looked genuinely confused. 

“The girl who sold you the scarf?” Kenma clarified. 

“She wasn’t flirting with me,” Kuroo said, sounding very sure of the fact. “I would have noticed. I’m very observant. I think she was just a bit lonely.” 

Kenma, who watched the barista handing Kuroo his morning cup of coffee with the text “Call me Dr Kuroo!” on their way to work every day, just shook his head in amusement. 

“Maybe we could give her Tora’s number?” Kuroo exclaimed. 

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. It would prevent this disaster from hitting Tinder.”

“What kind of picture do you think he should use then? Gym pictures?”

Kenma, whose entire knowledge of online dating consisted of accidental osmosis from the office, felt a bit out of his depth and struggled to remember anything relevant from his colleagues’ lunch rants. 

“I think you’re supposed to carry a fish,” he stated finally. Of that he was sure. 

“Fish?” Kuroo looked intrigued. “That’s perfect!”

“You’re supposed to pose with it, looking all hero-like. Preferably with no shirt on I think.”  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Next day at work, Kenma almost inhaled his drink through his nose when Kuroo sent a picture from the lab. He was posing with a huge container filled with zebra fish, looking like a proud father. Unfortunately, he was still wearing his lab coat. Kenma, who had joined Kuroo in the lab feeding the fish several times over weekends, knew they were the approximate size of cockroaches, and had about the same sex appeal.

_I was going to do one with no shirt too, but Yaku turned up and yelled at me and Lev. Told him I would help with his dating profile, but he turned me down! Can you believe it? Don’t you think 30 fish makes the picture even more impressive? It’s the mutated ones too! Everyone would swoon. Anyway, do you want udon or FISH for dinner? I’m buying fruit on the way home. Do you want anything special?_

Kenma fought a smile as he replied. 

_Fish look impressive. 10/10 would swipe right. Udon. Grapes_  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

“You’re not eating your grapes,” Kuroo chastised, nudging the bowl closer to him as they watched the movie. “Come on, you need the vitamins.”

“I don’t like them,” Kenma said, burrowing deeper into the warm kotatsu. “They have skin on.”

“This is their natural state Kenma. Grapes have skin.”

“I usually buy them pre-peeled.”

Kuroo blinked down at him. 

“You can peel them yourself, you know?”

“Too much effort.”

Kuroo shook his head, then peeled one grape and pushed it towards Kenma’s mouth while grumbling.

“I will peel five for you, because I’m always this kind. _Five_.”

And if Kenma accidently brushed his lips against Kuroo’s fingers from time to time when accepting the grapes it was totally unintentional and not at all because he enjoyed the way it turned his ears red. 

Kuroo peeled 30 grapes for him. 

Kenma mentally counted down the days left until Christmas.  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma had hoped to be rid of the bandages in time for the Christmas party, but Akaashi told him he had to wait a while longer.

“If you’re good and keep away from trouble you’ll be able to kiss Kuroo-san by _Hatsumode_ , but if you were hoping to enjoy the mistletoe tonight that’s a no.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that,” Kenma muttered. 

Akaashi gave him a skeptical look. Kenma huffed in annoyance and left the clinic, calling Shouyou to vent.  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma tried to huddle deeper into his scarf and hat to escape the cold wind, but it was still freezing. He hadn’t dressed to be able to sit outside, but here he was on a bench with Kuroo watching Bokuto, Akaashi and several people from the building engage in a snowball fight. Kenma had tried to tell Kuroo that it was fine for him to join them, but Kuroo had claimed he’d rather stay by his side. Kenma was glad his cheeks were already red.

Despite the cold, Kenma was pretty happy to sit there enjoying the park illuminations and the fight, until Kuroo made an excuse and left. Kenma continued to watch, on occasion cheering on Akaashi, who was surprisingly good at aiming. Kenma then noticed Kuroo talking animatedly to a woman nearby and frowned. He’d thought Kuroo needed to go to the bathroom or something, not flirt with people right in front of him. Not that he had any claim on Kuroo’s affections...they weren’t dating or anything. However Kenma felt they were at least...mutually flirting. Maybe he should have asked if they were exclusive ‘flirtmates’, but he didn’t think he had to.

Kenma decided that he could be wrong about the situation, or not, and that he should probably have a talk with Kuroo, but he certainly wasn’t going to sit here alone and freeze any longer. 

Just as he rose to leave, Kuroo returned, carrying something. 

“Are you leaving already?” 

“Yeah...I’m cold.”

“Oh...I thought we could join the fight? I borrowed this for you.”

Kuro held out a kendo mask. Kenma accepted it, too surprised to refuse. 

“The lady over there is married to a colleague of mine, so I can return the mask tomorrow at work. I saw her and got the idea. I didn’t want you to miss out.”

Kenma and Kuroo almost managed to defeat Bokuto and Akaashi, but had to yield. They then had to endure the couple bragging about their victory all evening. Hot chocolate with whipped cream was a nice consolation prize. Kenma kind of wanted to lick the cream off Kuroo’s face. Instead he had to watch Akaashi feed Bokuto Christmas cake, which was not the same thing.  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Kenma sat still and closed his eyes as Kuroo carefully removed the plaster from his nose. When he opened them again he looked at a dumbfounded Kuroo.

“What?”

“Shit...you are cute.”

“You noticed this just now?” Kenma hit Kuroo with a pillow. “Go fix me food.”

Kuroo laughed and tried to avoid the attack. 

“I did notice before, I did notice before!”

Kenma stopped hitting him and gave him a mock glare as he gingerly touched his nose, which felt like it was back to its normal size, finally. 

Kuroo returned with a glass of Kenma’s favourite milk tea and a cookie to appease him, sitting down next to him. 

“How does it feel? No pain?”

“It feels ok,” Kenma said. “You can be free from your life in servitude now.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Kuroo asked wryly. 

“No, I quite like having you around. I’m just saying you don’t have to take care of me.”

“I like taking care of you...but it’s true that couples generally do share chores equally.”

“That was almost smooth,” Kenma said, trying not to smile, but failing. 

“Smooth enough to apply for the position?”

“That depends...are you as good at kissing as you are at cooking?”

“So you do like my food after all,” Kuroo teased. 

“I love your food,” Kenma said, as he pulled Kuroo closer by the tie.  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

“Stop moving around so much,” Kenma mumbled grumpily, as Kuroo stretched next to him on their bed.

“You certainly didn’t mind when I was moving around last night," Kuroo sing-songed, sounding way too awake for Kenma’s peace of mind. “Be nice or you won’t get your special Christmas present.”

Kenma burrowed deeper into the pillow with a long-suffering sigh, but his cheeks were red and he knew Kuroo had noticed. He could feel his lanky boyfriend of three years shift to curl around him and close his eyes with a pleased sigh. Oh right, it was Christmas morning. One of the few days of the year when Kuroo wasn’t going to jump out of bed to jog, but stay and snooze with him instead. 

Kenma took the time to scroll through his notifications, still a bit bleary-eyed and cocooned in lovely warmth. 

_Merry Christmas Kenma!!!! Look at this!!!_

Kenma looked dutifully at Shouyou’s Christmas greeting with loudly singing birds before scrolling further. 

_A meeting with friends might cause you some injuries, so be careful_

Oh hell no, not again. For all that Kuroo claimed the slight scar gave his nose ‘character’, he did not need more of it. 

_Even if the weather forecast says sunny, you might get snow today, so be prepared_

Well if the last sentence hadn’t convinced him to stay in bed all day this one certainly did. 

_A proposal is looking likely_

Kenma stared at the words. Kuroo _had_ been acting a bit odd lately, though Kenma had attributed it to yet another grant deadline. He turned around and snuggled closer, stroking Kuroo’s spiky hair back from his relaxed face. 

“Tetsu,” he whispered. “I’m ready for my Christmas present now.”  
  
  


¤¤¤ 

Sappy extra info just for fun:

Kuroo and Bokuto met in elementary school and became friends immediately. They played volleyball together on the school team, though neither continued after highschool. They still like it and stay up-to-date with sports events and statistics. Coach Nekomata was almost like a second father to Kuroo, whose own father was away from home a lot when he was a kid. They still stay in contact and Nekomata almost cried at Kuroo’s graduation. 

Kuroo’s sister is much older and lives far away, but they have a great relationship and share both looks and humour. Kuroo is godfather to her three kids and spoils them rotten. They all adore Kenma. Kuroo still gets ugly socks. 

Kuroo moved to the building first and then Bokuto moved there a year later. They don’t have the same schedules since their fields of work are different, but since they are neighbours they still manage to see each other quite often. They jog together early every morning and sometimes hit the gym, though Bokuto is there more frequently. Kuroo met Yaku and Kai at university and they eventually ended up working in the same lab. 

Kenma met Hinata in primary school and they have stayed friends since. Kenma grew up in a loving home and his parents are very supportive of him and everything he does. He works in malware and is very good at it. Kenma used to work with Fukunaga before and is very happy to do so again. Tora has worked there for many years. He didn’t quite like Kenma at first, but once he noticed how good he was (and that Fukunaga liked him) he eventually adopted Kenma too. Despite his Tinder profile, Tora eventually got a girlfriend.

Kuroo and Kenma dated for quite a while before they realized they only needed one apartment. The building only has small ones so they squeezed into Kenma’s for several years before they eventually moved to a much bigger place. They still have an annual Christmas party with several former housemates and their other friends, but nowadays it’s held at their house.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Wren for the vision of Kuroo totally being the guy to have a fish photo on Tinder and thanks to Lestey for our very serious discussion about peeled grapes on Discord. 😘😘😘
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